Defoe linked to Toronto move

08 January 2014 10:02

Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe is set to join Toronto FC on Monday, according to reports in Canada.

The Toronto Sun has reported that "Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe will be unveiled as TFC's newest Designated Player Monday morning".

No direct mention of Defoe appeared on the club's own official website, but an image on the home page carries the words "It's a bloody big deal", accompanied by Monday's date.

That link leads to a video, posted by Toronto FC on YouTube and described by the Toronto Sun as "a cheeky (club) marketing campaign", of a man in a white polo shirt sitting in what resembles an English cafe. The man drinks from a cup of tea before spitting the drink out in shock at what he has seen on a television screen, before Toronto's logo appears beside him.

Should Defoe head to Major League Soccer, he will do so following 15-and-a-half years in English football and nine with Tottenham, split across two spells which have yielded 142 goals. That tally leaves him fifth among the club's all-time leading goalscorers.

He has scored nine this season, two in September 24's Premier League win over Aston Villa with the rest coming in the Europa League. He has struggled to break into the starting line-up under coaches Andre Villas-Boas and his replacement Tim Sherwood, though, with Roberto Soldado and most recently Emmanuel Adebayor preferred.